Kings Langley have had to wait until the first weekend of September to play their first home game of the season, but they made it a triumphant first outing by beating Barking 3-1 to reach the second qualifying round of the FA Cup.

Pitch renovation works at the Sadiku Stadium meant Kings have had to play all their Southern League Premier Central games to date away from home.

The new surface played well though, and the home side produced some good attacking football at times in the first half that should have yielded more than a Charlie Ruff penalty to give the hosts the lead at the break.

Further goals did arrive after the interval through Eoin McKeown and Max Hercules, but the hosts were also fortunate not to concede before Johnny Ashman did pull one back for the visitors when they were 2-0 down.

Kings signalled their attacking intent from the opening stages with Roddy Collins, Hercules and Kyle Connolly, from a free-kick, all having efforts inside the first 10 minutes.

But the first big chance went the way of the visitors in the 12th minute when a Ryan Mallett pass found Sammy Dadson with the freedom of the left side of the Kings penalty area, but he placed his attempted finish wide of the far post.

The hosts responded with McKeown sending a stooping header wide, but they really should have gone in front when a quick break exposed the Barking defence. After Hercules had seen his first effort well saved by Mitchell Ware, Mitchell Weiss’ follow-up was blocked and then Ruff was unable to get the ball out of his feet quick enough to get a shot away, enabling the keeper to dive at his feet and claim the ball.

Kings kept pushing but Ware continued to hold firm between the posts, first pushing behind a Collins shot away before excelling to keep out a McKeown header after he was allowed the space to attack a cross from the left.

Another superb opportunity for the hosts was to come and go when McKeown slid in at the back post but was unable to divert a Ruff delivery inside the upright.

The hosts should have been in command by the midway point of the half, but they survived another escape when Collins got back to clear off his own line after a mix-up had left keeper Melvin Minter stranded.

The breakthrough did finally arrive in the 33rd minute when Ruff confidently converted a penalty after a Weiss run in the 18-yard box ended when he was felled by Daniel Flemming.

It was a lead the home side were to take into the interval, but that owed a fair amount to some good fortune.

Barking could easily have levelled when more poor defending left Minter in no man’s land, but Ricky Tabard was unable to lob the ball back into the empty net from out wide on the left.

The woodwork then came to Kings’ rescue on the stroke of half-time when Mallett saw his thumping header from a corner crash against the bar before the hosts scrambled it clear.

The second half was to see an increase in the number of goals scored but, ironically, they were the result of less goalmouth action than the opening period.

Kings’ second almost arrived from a corner which Callum Adebiyi met with a downward header which bounced up and off the face of the bar before it went behind.

Clear daylight was to be established in the 57th minute when the inventive Ruff picked out a run from right to left across the area by McKeown, who flicked a nice finish beyond Ware with his outstretched right foot.

The two-goal cushion was to last only four minutes though, as Gary Conolly took too much time on the ball and was caught in possession by Ashman, who in turn got past the exposed Minter before firing home to make it 2-1.

The goal gave the visitors renewed hope but they were unable to build up a sustained head of steam thereafter and the hosts made sure of their place in the draw for the next round with four minutes of normal team remaining when McKeown sent Hercules clear with a nice through ball and he finished in composed fashion to net the third.

Kings Langley: Minter; G Connolly, Doyley (Farrell 76), Adebiyi, K Connolly; Collins, Coldicott-Stevens (Pattison 64); McKeown, Ruff (Crawford 69), Hercules; Weiss. Subs not used: Campbell-Mhlope, Brady, Mantle.